Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) Wednesday announced $1.5 million in grants to revitalize communities and support access to affordable housing across Vermont. The announcement marks the first round of 2015 federal grants awarded by NeighborWorks America.

Senator Patrick Leahy

“Vermont’s NeighborWorks affiliates are on the front lines of creating jobs and stabilizing our communities by investing in affordable housing. Vermont, like the rest of the country, faces an extreme shortage of affordable housing. These investments will help our local NeighborWorks Organizations to continue to build, rehabilitate and manage affordable housing for Vermonters and provide vital housing counseling and education for renters, homebuyers and homeowners. These grants will support their excellent record of lending a hand to Vermonters in need and in helping to strengthen our communities,” said Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy

Senator Bernie Sanders

“It is no secret that over the past decade, incomes have not come close to keeping pace with rising housing costs. At a time when countless families are struggling to get by, and when many households are spending more and more of their limited income on housing, this grant will help provide more housing to Vermonters who need it,” announced Sanders.

Senator Bernie Sanders

Representative Peter Welch

“Every Vermonter should have the peace of mind that comes with a safe and affordable home. These funds are a welcome investment in our communities and can be put to use helping families with a wide range of challenges such as finding a rental, needed home repairs and financial counseling. I applaud NeighborWorks for their commitment to strengthening and improving neighborhoods all over Vermont.”

Representative Peter Welch

As the most senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Leahy has led efforts to support for annual funding for NeighborWorks America. Last year Leahy led a group of 30 senators (link is external), which includes Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), in urging the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee to support funding for NeighborWorks America, which has a proven its ability to leverage federal appropriations with other investments.

NeighborWorks America is a public nonprofit established by Congress to invest in revitalizing communities and preserving affordable housing through their 245 partner organizations across the country. NeighborWorks America awarded five grants to Vermont’s affiliates, totaling $1,558,939, an increase over the $1,334,634 awarded last year:

· Central Vermont Community Land Trust Inc. — $161,250

· Champlain Housing Trust — $574,189

· NeighborWorks of Western Vermont — $269,385

· RuralEdge — $214,160

· Windham & Windsor Housing Trust — $339,955

Ludy Biddle, director of NeighborWorks of Western Vermont (NWWV), said: “This grant makes it possible for us to carry out everything from our personal counseling for elderly couples threatened with foreclosure, to our home repair and efficiency program that is saving residents more than a million dollars a year in energy costs, to our neighborhood program impacting all the residents in a 10-block area near downtown Rutland. NeighborWorks America makes this all possible.”

Chris Donnelly, director of community relations for Champlain Housing Trust, said: “NeighborWorks America’s support strengthens our organization at a time when there is an increasing need for our services. This funding will also help us build new affordable apartments to address the significant shortage of housing in our region.”

About Bob Farnham

Bob Farnham is the digital age's equivalent of a charismatic itinerant preacher blended with Johnny Appleseed. Bob effectively uses his considerable skill for leveraging the power of digital media to "spread the word" and his timeless dedication to "showing up" at any event or gathering where there might be the opportunity to gently bend someone's ear about the value of clean renewable energy. Through his own effort, he has become knowledgeable in all the latest green technologies and he can talk about them in plain compelling language that wins over even the most skeptical. Bob is fearless in talking to anyone and absolutely committed to doing everything he can to promote the widespread adoption of conservation, energy efficiency, sustainability and ending our reliance on fossil fuels.

This commentary is by Sandra Levine, who is a senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation in Montpelier. From this summer’s sweltering heat in the usually cool Pacific Northwest, to the heat wave that grounded airplanes in Arizona, there is no question that the impacts of climate change are upon us. The recent draft of […]

This commentary is by Shay Totten, of Burlington, who is a former journalist and political columnist. Can we end this tired old trope that only conservatives understand business and liberals can’t “connect” with people when it comes to jobs, the economy and their personal pocketbook? Reading Mike Smith’s column: (“Democrats fail to connect with economic […]

“I like solar, just not where I can see it…” Vermont strives to run on 90% renewable energy by 2050, but opponents say they don’t want it in their back yard. A Charlotte Vermont couple has been planning on installing a solar farm in their back yard for 3 years. They just found out their project […]